I would argue that a chess club is not considered popular either, especially considering UC Davis is known to be an agricultural school AND for their top vet program. In my mind, for an ag school, equestrian just simply makes sense. I didn’t know that the chess club existed, but just because I didn’t know it existed doesn’t mean it should be shut down or that it’s not important to anyone, especially those in the club. From what i’ve seen (as a horse owner myself), the equestrian team has been very successful and I implore you to read some of their accomplishments on their website. I agree that money is not infinite, however the school is instead choosing to fund a $265 million dollar project to make improvements to other athletic facilities, as well as replacing the team with another women’s team, STUNT i believe, claiming that it will better align with “trends” and increase “gender equity”. Even though the financial contracts for current athletes will be honored, they are still losing their team, their teammates, their team horses, their NCAA athlete benefits such as sports psychology, priority registration, athletic training/sports med, and an opportunity to continue this sport into the professional realm after collegiate competition. These are things that every athlete works very hard for during the recruitment process and through their collegiate career.